"A Wild Ride"

Usually I begin this blog with an update on Mike, but I just needed a moment to thank so many of you, who I know are praying for me specifically, during this time, and who have encouraged my heart daily to keep walking baby step, by baby step. It hasn't always been easy, and it hasn't always been bravely, but I could have never come this far, without the faithful love and prayers of so many of you.

Often, I read a devotion called "Daily Strength" by Joseph Stowell. (found at RBC http://www.rbc.org/bible-study/strength-for-the-journey/daily-strength.aspx) He has an interesting way of captivating my attention and making complex things of the Bible seem everyday and easy to understand. He has written a book called "The Upside of Down" and I would like to recommend it to you. (to read an excerpt go to http://www.dhp.org/files/X9529_excerpt.pdf) Mr. Stowell poses the question, "Have you ever found yourself caught on a roller-coaster ride that you weren't standing in line for?"

Well, lately, Mike and I have wound up on a wild ride that we never bargained for, and it has been a struggle enjoying any of the ride along the way. One twisty path after another seems to be trying to knock our feet out from under us, and it has been a challenge, to say the least, keeping the right perspective. I, personally, keep needing to tether myself back to, God is Sovereign, and He is in control. It may not feel like it at times, and I'm not always a happy camper on the journey, but I need to rest knowing He's at the wheel, and He has a greater purpose with this path we're having to travel.

Anyway, on Friday morning in LR, Mike will have a CT Scan. This will be the first (clear) scan done since our trip down to MD Anderson, last December. Those results on CD, could never be opened by the doctors here, so it has been sketchy what size the tumor last was then. We're praying the tumor in Mike's liver will have been reduced significantly with the chemotherapy treatments he's been receiving the last four months, and we pray NO OTHER tumors/cancer will be found. We will not receive any results until probably next week, so we're trusting God for His peace and sustaining grace, while we wait. We are praying even now, that whatever those results turn out to be, God will be preparing our hearts to understand and accept them, and that He will direct our path from there.

To update you on Mike, for the last couple of days, he has felt a little more tired, and his feet (the neuropathy) have felt more pain. He also has had some difficulty sleeping, but it has been a tremendously stressful week for our family, so I'm sure that has had an impact. Mike also has been trying to work regular work days, and I'm certain his body is rebelling from that. We're celebrating that he is feeling well enough to attempt this, and just keep praying God gives him back his strength day by day.

Thank you for checking our blog often, to see how you can be praying for our family, and please keep us in your thoughts and prayers on Friday. Love, Mike and Beverly

"For in the day of trouble HE will keep me safe in his dwelling; He will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock. (Psalm 27:5) Hear my voice when I call, O LORD; be merciful to me and answer me. My heart says of you, "Seek his face!" Your face, LORD, I will seek. Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, O God my Savior. (Psalm 27:7-9) I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD. (Psalm 27:13-14)